Is Your Manuscript
Ready for an Editor?
What to do before you hire, and how to choose the right kind of editing for your work.
Editing
#05
Hi friends.
Hiring an editor is one of the most meaningful investments you can make in your novel. And because it is an investment, you want to make sure you’re squeezing every drop of value out of it. The good news is there’s a lot you can do before your manuscript lands in an editor’s inbox to make sure the feedback you get is as targeted and useful as possible.
This post covers what to do before you hire, how editors actually think about a manuscript, and how the different stages of editing work so you can figure out what’s right for where you are
What your editor is actually evaluating
A good editor isn’t coming to your manuscript with a universal checklist. They’re calibrating their feedback to you—your current skill level, your strengths, and what you’re genuinely ready to implement.
Early in my career, a mentor of mine put it plainly: you have to meet the writer where they are. In practice, that means an editor’s suggestions are shaped by two things:
What needs to be fixed first Addressing a foundational problem will inevitably affect everything downstream. There’s no point finessing a character’s dialogue voice if the character themselves needs a structural rethink.
What you’re capable of implementing Feedback that outpaces your current craft level isn’t useful feedback. A good editor gives you something you can actually act on.
An editor isn't going to give you feedback on advanced craft techniques if foundational issues need addressing first. That’s not a slight, it’s just smart sequencing.
This is why arriving at your edit with as polished a draft as possible matters. The cleaner your manuscript, the more your editor can focus on the high-level stuff. The things you genuinely can’t see from inside your own story.
Do the refining first
It’s tempting to hand over your first draft the second you type “the end.” You’re exhausted, you’ve been living inside this story for months (or years), and you want someone else’s eyes on it immediately. Completely understandable. Also one of the most common ways writers leave value on the table.
The goal isn’t to hand your editor a perfect manuscript, but to hand them the best version you are currently capable of producing. An editor working from a first draft will spend a significant portion of their feedback on things you would have caught yourself on a second pass: pacing drag, repetitive scenes, underdeveloped subplots. That’s money spent on notes you didn’t need.
Give your manuscript at least one thorough revision before you reach out. Step away from it (ideally for at least a few weeks) and come back with fresh eyes. You’ll catch more than you expect.
The case for alpha readers
Once you’ve done that revision pass, bring in two or three alpha readers before you hire an editor. Alpha readers engage with your story as readers, not writers, and that perspective is invaluable.
A word on who to ask… not your close friends or family, if you can help it. They’re often either too close to read it without bias, or care too much about you to criticize. Fellow writers, writing group members, or readers who are deep in your genre are your best bet.
Alpha readers surface the problems you can’t see because you’re too close to the manuscript. They’ll tell you where they got confused, where they lost interest, where a character’s motivation felt off. You revise based on their feedback, and by the time your manuscript reaches your editor, the most glaring issues have already been dealt with. Your editor gets to go deeper. That being said, not all feedback is created equal. It's great to get outside opinions, but don't gut your manuscript just because someone suggested it. Listen, consider, then decide what actually serves the story. The same goes for your editor's suggestions. They're experts, but you're the one who knows this book.
The four stages of editing
Editing is a process with distinct stages, each focused on something different. Understanding them helps you figure out not just when to hire an editor, but which kind you actually need.
1. Developmental editing
This is the big-picture edit, and it’s where fiction writers should almost always start. A developmental editor looks at your novel as a whole: plot, structure, character arcs, pacing, theme, point of view—and how all of those elements work (or don’t work) together. They’re not focused on your sentences. They’re focused on your story.
The main deliverable is an editorial letter or report that outlines what’s working, what isn’t, and concrete recommendations for your next draft. Depending on the editor, this is sometimes accompanied by in-line comments in the manuscript itself. I include both in my own process, because in-line notes let me point directly to where something is working brilliantly (so you know to do more of it) or give a specific, concrete example of a piece of advice in context.
One more thing worth knowing is that the developmental edit has to happen first. If a dev edit results in significant restructuring, rewritten scenes, or a rethought character (and it often does) any line editing or copyediting done before it would be wasted. You’d be polishing prose that might not survive the next draft.
2. Line editing
Once your story’s structure is solid, a line editor turns their attention to the prose itself, working through your manuscript line by line. They’re looking at sentence structure, word choice, rhythm, pacing at the paragraph level, transitions, and the consistency of your voice.
The easiest way I’ve found to explain the difference between line editing and copyediting: a line edit aims to make your writing good. A copyedit aims to make it correct. Line editing is an art-driven process. It’s attentive to style, tone, and the specific texture of your voice. A line editor isn’t just fixing things; they’re helping you find the best version of how you write.
3. Copyediting
Where a line edit makes your writing good, a copyedit makes it correct and consistent. A copyeditor checks grammar, punctuation, spelling, and internal consistency. Things like whether your character’s eye colour changes between chapters, or whether your timeline actually adds up. It’s meticulous, technical work, and its whole job is to make sure nothing pulls the reader out of the story.
4. Proofreading
Proofreading is the final polish, and it typically happens after typesetting once your manuscript has been formatted for print or digital publication. A proofreader catches whatever slipped through everything else: stray typos, formatting inconsistencies, anything that crept in during layout.
If you’re pursuing traditional publishing, this is usually handled in-house by your publisher, so you likely won’t need to hire for it independently. If you’re self-publishing, it could be worth the investment. It’s the last line of defence before your book is in readers’ hands.
Do you need every stage?
In an ideal world, yes because each stage serves a distinct purpose, and they build on each other. But editing is a real financial investment, and not everyone can do all four rounds. If you have to prioritize, do it intentionally.
Ask yourself honestly, where is the biggest gap in this manuscript right now? If the story structure feels shaky, start with a developmental edit. If the bones are solid but the prose feels flat or inconsistent, a line edit is probably what you need. If you’re confident in both but know that grammar and continuity aren’t your strong suit, a copyedit will serve you well.
It’s also worth thinking about where you don’t want to spend your own time and energy. A lot of writers who are strong on craft but find technical consistency genuinely tedious get enormous value from copyediting. Others who trust their grammar but struggle to see their own structural blind spots invest in developmental work first. Neither approach is wrong, it just depends on you, your book, and what you’re trying to achieve.
The bottom line
Hiring an editor is not the same thing as finishing your draft. The most productive editorial relationships happen when the author has already done their own work, revised, gotten outside eyes on it, and arrived with the cleanest possible version of their manuscript. That’s how you make sure the feedback you’re paying for is actually working at the level your writing deserves.
If you’re at that point and wondering whether your manuscript is ready, I’d love to chat. I offer sample edits and I’m always happy to have a conversation about where your novel is and what kind of support might serve it best.
Happy writing!
